Shloka 156

Devanagari script

क्षीणदोषमहं मन्ये चाभितत्त्वां नरोत्तम | कर्मदोषसे ही मनुष्य विषम एवं भयंकर दुर्गतिमें पड़ जाता है। परंतु नरश्रेष्ठ! मैं तो समझता हूँ कि आपके सारे कर्मदोष सर्वथा नष्ट हो गये हैं

Transliteration

kṣīṇadoṣam ahaṃ manye cābhitattvāṃ narottama | karmadoṣe hi manuṣyaḥ viṣame evaṃ bhayaṅkare durgatim evaṃ patati | parantu narśreṣṭha! ahaṃ tu manye yathā tava sarve karmadoṣāḥ sarvathā naṣṭāḥ

Translation

Sang brāhmaṇa berkata: “Wahai insan termulia, aku memandang engkau sebagai seseorang yang noda-nodanya telah terkikis dan yang telah mencapai kebenaran. Sebab karena cacat perbuatanlah manusia jatuh ke dalam kesengsaraan yang berat dan mengerikan. Namun engkau, wahai yang terdepan di antara manusia—kupahami bahwa segala cela perbuatanmu telah lenyap sepenuhnya.”

Word by Word

क्षीणदोषम्having diminished faults / whose दोष are destroyed

अहम्I

मन्येI think / consider

चand

अभितत्त्वाम्true nature / reality (as an object of understanding)

नरोत्तमO best of men

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (a brāhmaṇa speaker)

न

नरोत्तम (addressed ‘best of men’)

न

नरश्रेष्ठ (addressed ‘foremost of men’)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Actions carry ethical consequences: when one’s conduct is tainted (karma-doṣa), it leads to fearful decline (durgati). Conversely, through right conduct and inner purification, those stains can be eradicated, indicating moral and spiritual maturity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa addresses a noble man with reverence, warning generally about the peril of flawed actions, but then affirming that the listener’s karmic blemishes have already been destroyed—praising him as purified and aligned with truth.